Opinion: College Football's Week Eight Heroes

Another weekend of college football is in the books, so let’s go through who was great on the gridiron with my Week Eight Heroes:

Cody Kessler: The USC quarterback broke a school record – held by his illustrious predecessor, Matt Barkley – on Saturday, throwing for seven touchdown passes (five of them in the first half, which is also a school record) as the Trojans celebrated Homecoming with a strong 56-28. Kessler completed 19-26 for 319 and his seven scores. USC were up 35-7 at the half, and 42-7 after on the second play of the third quarter, where Kessler hit receiver Nelson Agholor for 75 yards. It was over well before that.

Florida State’s Defense: Fitting that one of the games of the season so far came down to the last minute, and to a crucial goal-line stand for the Seminoles defense. Yes, they were aided by a somewhat-questionable offensive pass interference call that negated a game-winning touchdown for Notre Dame, but the FSU defense came up with some giant plays late in the contest to stall the Irish…and eventually come up with the game-sealing interception.

As good as the ‘Noles offense was in the second half, their defense was better. When it mattered the most, they stood up. Famous 31-27 victory for Jimbo Fisher’s squad, and a genuine team effort.

Ameer Abdullah: The Nebraska running back pretty much single-handedly beat Northwestern in Evanston. He carried the football 23 times for 146 yards (at 6.3 yards were carry, if you don’t mind!) and four scores as the Cornhuskers kept the Wildcats scoreless in the second half, en route to a 38-17 win.

Devontae Booker: The Utah running back had 229 yards and three touchdowns – including the game-winning score in the second overtime – as the Utes eked out a tight 29-23 victory over Oregon State on Friday night. Booker’s effort is the fifth-best rushing total in Utah football history.

Minnesota: The surprise packet of the Big Ten keeps on surprising. The Gophers outlasted Purdue 39-38 to take command of the Western division of their conference, and they’re Bowl eligible after only seven games. Jerry Kill should be in line for Coach of the Year honours the way he’s got his team – and especially it’s running game – going. The only game the Gophers have dropped this year was against TCU, which isn’t a bad loss, is it?

Alabama’s Offense: All week – actually, for the last few weeks – we’ve been hearing about how Lane Kiffin has killed the Crimson Tide’s offense. Well, Kiffin and his players sent one hell of a message to the rest of the college football world in Tuscaloosa on Saturday afternoon, where Blake Sims, T.J. Yeldon and Amari Cooper helped the Tide to a 59-0 annihilation of Texas A&M. Yeah, Alabama are back in town, and if Kiffin’s offense produces like that every week, be very afraid.

Nick Chubb: A star unearthed here. Pressed into starting duties for Georgia following the suspension of star back Todd Gurley, Chubb had himself a day out against Arkansas, notching 202 yards on 30 carries (7.1 yards per rush) and two scores as the Dawgs survived a late Arkansas rally for a 45-32 win on the road. For the second week in a row, it’s a case of, No Gurley, No Worries for Georgia.

Clint Trickett: The West Virginia quarterback led his unranked and mostly-unheralded team to a surprising victory over previously-undefeated Baylor and out-duelled Bryce Petty as the Mountaineers recorded a 41-27 win. Trickett was 23-35 for 322 yards and three scores. The maturation of the Florida State transfer has been impressive.

Jake Waters: The Kansas State quarterback led his Wildcats into Norman, Oklahoma and came out with a 31-30 victory over warm favourites Oklahoma. Nearly everything K-State did offensively came via Waters. He was 15-23 for 225 yards and two touchdowns through the air, and added 51 rush yards on ten carries, and a further touchdown. Big win for the Wildcats who might be the best team in the conference at the moment.

Rakeem Cato: The Marshall quarterback set an FBS record on Saturday, throwing a touchdown pass for the thirty-ninth consecutive game. Oh yeah, and the Thundering Herd remain undefeated, ousting Florida International 45-13.

Notre Dame: The Irish were beaten by Florida State in Tallahassee but far from disgraced in the process. Right now, they’re on the outside looking in as far as sneaking into the four-team playoff goes, but with the sort of carnage we’ve seen in the national rankings over the last few weeks, a one-loss Irish yet might get a slot in the playoff. Brian Kelly’s squad lost no admirers on Saturday night.

Nelson Agholor: The USC receiver benefited from Cody Kessler’s record-setting day, snagging 6 catches for 128 yards and 3 touchdowns, including a 75-yard effort to open the second half.